HUSBAND
Women usually call their husbands as“老公(
lăo gōng)”and “孩子他/她爸(
hái zi tā/tā bà).” These two terms are quite informal and colloquial. “老公(
lăo gōng)”refers to the man with whom a woman will live a long time together (i.e.: get old together). In this term,“老(
lăo)”means "old" and “公(
gōng)”refers to male. “孩子他/她爸(
hái zi tā/tā bà)”; directly means "my kids' father," “他(
tā)”is the equivalent word of "he," and “她(
tā)”means "she."
“先生(
xiān sheng)”also means "husband" and is very formal.
e.g. 你是找我家先生吗？(
nĭ shì zhăo wŏ jiā xiān sheng ma?)
Are you looking for my husband?
Actually, besides the meaning of "husband," this term has broad usages. The male teachers have also been called "先生(xiān sheng)." People entitle these distinguished and honorable person as "先生(xiān sheng)," such as accomplished scientists, politics and literary greats.
“丈夫(zhàng fu)”is a widely used term referring to "husband" (formal). The general meaning of “夫(fu)” means "male."
“爱人(ài ren)” also means "husband". “爱(ài)”means "love," and "人(rén)"means "person." The combination of “爱(ài)”and “人(rén)” literally means "the person you love." This term can also refer to "wife." So the introduction “这是我的爱人(zhè shì wŏ de ài ren)” "This is my husband/wife." can be used both by wives and husbands.
WIFE
“老婆(lăo po)” refers to the woman with whom a man will live a long time together (i.e., get old together).
“孩子她/他妈(hái zi tā/tā mā)” is the equivalent term as “孩子他/她爸(hái zi tā/tā bà),” and the meaning is "my kids' mom." That is, my kids' mom is my wife.
“屋里的(wū lĭ de)”: This term describes a wife to be "the woman staying in the house." “屋(wū)” means "the house." “里(lĭ)”is a preposition and means "in."
“妻子,夫人,太太(qī zi, fū rén, tài tai)”: These three terms are used to address married women in formal situations. “妻子(qī zi)”is generally used along with “丈夫(zhàng fu).” “夫人(fū rén) ”and “太太(tài tai)”show more respect to the married women than do other terms.
